Dilemmas
by apandamonium
Summary: Tiffany Ming thought everything would line up when she moved to Westchester County. She would finally be able to tell Hunter Chen, her best friend and crush, how she felt about him. But Massie Block is part of this story; how can there be a happy ending?
1. Introduction

_My apologies to any prospective __Dilemmas_ _readers; I've taken quite the long break but I've begun to reharvest the desire to write for FanFiction. Ideas are slowly and painfully returning to me and I hope you'll be on the lookout for future pieces of writing._

_~  
***Edit: **This introductory chapter has been reposted (yet again) in order to change a few minor details around and to correct some errors and mistakes. I hope that the changes will make the story a much more interesting one to read._

**Fresh meat…**

_**Females:**_

**Massie Block: **Things have been going great all senior year of high school. The PC is closer than ever on _great_ terms and new beau Hunter is hawt, _hawt_, **HAWT**. But there's a new girl in town, and she's the ideal exotic, brilliant, talented, A-list beauty. She also happens to be on close terms with Hunter… She has no interest in the Pretty Committee or even next season's _clothes, _but **everyone **still loves her. Puh-lease don't tell me our alpha is slipping _**again!**_

**Alicia Rivera: **Planning on staging one last take over before the end of high school since Massie is achieving major "LBR status." Only this time, she needs to ditch the alpha insecurities that come along free, and totally own her rein and rule. But this exotic, (half) Spanish beauty also faces the issue of Tiffany Ming, the A-List, Chinese and _**gorgeous**_, triple threat (in every way), who gets points for nawt trying to steal Josh. However she _might_ need to worry about Josh leaving her anyway…

**Dylan Marvil: **Ahh-dores, times ten, the new girl because she's laid back and she _**eats.**_ Was a little worried that Tiffany might be after Derrick, but it turns out she actually likes a certain alphas Asian H.A.R.T.

**Kristen Gregory: **Astounded that Tiffany can play several sports, every instrument_ ever, _dance, and still maintain straight A's. Idolizes this girl and luhvs that the two can bond as friends but trouble begins to stir up…She becomes totally jealous when every teacher has a new pet. Competition much?

**Claire Lyons: **Was never a backstabber but, _ehmagawd, _Tiffany is nice beyond words. She doesn't care that Kristen and her aren't rich, for one. She treats Claire just like a friend; caring and giving, but not to a point of embarrassment.

**Tiffany Ming: **Has secretly loved her best friend Hunter for years and is thrilled to be attending his school. However, she finds out almost immediately that he already has a girl on his arm. Just when she is about to fully move on, his head finally turns. Now not two, but _three_ boys are fighting for her attention.

_**Males:**_

**Derrick Harrington: **Is very happy with Dylan and enticed with this new girl. He sees an alpha in her that he has neh-vur seen in Massie Block.

**Josh Hotz: **It's beginning to frustrate this poor boy that Alicia is constantly obsessing with her title. Infatuated with Tiffany, he will help her with whatever she wants and refuses to accompany Alicia in her social ladder ascent.

**Chris Plovert: **Intrigued with the true individuality that Claire _never_ brought from Orlando, he seems to really like Tiffany…as in _like_-like.

**Kemp Hurley: **As usual, he wants to _play_ with the new girl. He just doesn't understand that Tiffany is just as devious as she is innocent…and smart…and gorgeous…and...you know what I mean.

**Cameron Fisher: **Treats the new girl like family and just doesn't get what Hunter _**doesn't**_ see. Tiffany is pretty, smart, nice, caring, witty, and loyal. What else is there?

**Hunter Chen: **Always saw Tiffany as the best friend; the prettier-than-usual girl next door that he could always talk to about his female-related situations. But when she breaks her golden dating rule, a little monster forms inside him that has him seeing green…

* * *

_Very quickly, I just wanted to make it evident that, in reality, this story is meant to be more heavy/dramatic than it seems in reference to the introduction. I hope that it will be a good read none the less. Please do me a favor and review the coming chapters. It's always nice to have feedback on how you felt about the chapter and what you think of the progression of the story._

_I'm open to suggestions and I'll try my best to make the story very friendly to the audience. For example, should you feel like something should occur within the story and I appeal to the suggestion, I will see if it will fit in the storyline and add it in._

_Thank you to any prospective readers._

_~Amanda_


	2. Chapter 1: Distractions

**Chapter 1: Distractions**

"Ma?" Tiffany called out, looking at her 5'9 reflection, which came from the single mirror wall in her bedroom. As her mother came into her room, she smoothed out her two-tiered black, silk skirt and straightened out the white cotton shirt that she tucked into it. The oversized black bow that was sewn over the bustline of the shirt hung casually but perfectly straight.

"Yes?" her mother asked in Mandarin Chinese, leaning against the doorway.

"Do you think these clothes will make a good impression at my new school? I want the teachers to know that I dress nicely but with a very proper manner," Tiffany smiled at the mirror and said, "I want them to know that I am smart but I have many other extracurriculars that would make me a shoe in to be accepted into Stanford."

Priscilla Ming's eyebrows scrunched up as her expression became one that seemed quite bothered.

"Ming Ri Chu," she said, using her daughter's Chinese name, "I know you want to make a good impression with your teachers; you always want to and I'm so proud of you, but you never take any time trying to impress the girls that you want to be friends with."

Tiffany rolled her eyes.

"Ma," she replied, exasperated. "I have good friends and I go out when I feel like I should. What more could you ask for?"

"Bao Bei, you heard wrong," Priscilla retorted in Mandarin. "I never said you had no social life, I just meant that you don't embrace it like most of the girls in your age group."

"I'm not most girls, Mom," Tiffany said quietly. "You raised me to be a performer, in school and out. Most girls of the girls in my age group? They don't get that. You have to understand that I'm happy with my life the way it is."

She pulled her JanSport backpack over her shoulder and gave her mother a kiss on the cheek.

"I don't know if I'll ever be one of those girls, but it will happen eventually if it's meant to be. I have to go; Hunter asked me to go to school thirty minutes early so he could show me around. Tell Baba "Have a great day" for me. I love you, mom."

"You're going to amaze your teachers, Fany!" she heard her mother call after her.

Tiffany grinned as she quickly pulled on a pair of black Uggs and ran to her car, a 2010 Camaro Synergy Edition. Tiffany had spent a long time working for the money and permission of her parents to allow her to buy a car like that. She quickly fell in love with the green color although her parents were opposed to flashy cars.

"If you get into an accident, an expensive green car like that will stand out," they had said over and over. "It's better to have a car that will blend in."

They eventually let her buy the car on the condition that Tiffany would be entirely in charge of paying for any insurance and damages that would or might come with it.

Tiffany started up the engine and turned on the stereo to 97.1. After a minute she shriveled up her nose and plugged her iPod into the auxiliary jack in order to play her own music during the ten minute drive to school.

As she pulled into the driveway, already a quarter filled with the expensive and fancy cars belonging to the teachers, Tiffany saw a very familiar face waiting in front of the double doors that led into Briarwood-Octavian High School.

She felt a smile appear on her face and it grew larger and larger as she pulled into a parking spot and turned off the engine. Tiffany made sure to lock the car and grab her belongings before she got out.

"Hunter Chen, is that really you?" Tiffany grinned at her best friend as she leaned against her Camaro. She had always gotten along with boys, and she related to Hunter the best. He always understood her behavior and had somehow been the only person who treated life the way she did.

"Tiffany Ming, my cohort in brains. The years have not been kind," Hunter joked. His eyes fell on her car.

"Now this babe is a total hottie," he continued, voice slathered with oil. He walked up to Tiffany and began stroking the green paint on her car. "Hi," he began, speaking to the car and raising his eyebrows, "I'm Hunter. Hunter Chen."

Tiffany giggled and lightly punched him in the waist before she wrapped an arm around his 5'11 shoulders. He returned the gesture with a big bear hug.

"I see you're just as much of a dork as ever," she retorted, but her pleased at his actions none the less.

He ruffled her hair slightly and, ignoring her protests that he was ruining her good impression, spoke.

"So…are you ready to take Westchester on a wild ride? You know, our class size hasn't expanded at all in the last three years. Now, a genius newbie arriving in the middle of the semester?"

You're going to be major talk," He said bluntly.

Tiffany sighed, "Great. Just what I need: distractions."

She exhaled deeply.

"Well you can tell them to shove a cork in it because I have a college to get into," Tiffany pouted and looked at her watch. "You now have only twenty minutes to show me around. Hurry up!" she shouted the last phrase in Mandarin.

Hunter grabbed Tiffany's wrist and pulled her into the school, unaware of her surprise.

The first stop was the office, where Tiffany picked up her student id, another copy of her schedule, several pamphlets and packets introducing her to Briarwood-Octavian High School, and complementary stationary and supplies.

"Now," said Hunter as the two left the office, "According to the schedule you emailed me, I've come up with an awesome map for you," he said, handing her a thick sheet of glossy paper. "Just follow it and life will be good."

Tiffany burst out laughing as she took in the uneven rectangles, meant to symbolize tables and classrooms, and the stick figures scrawled on the page. Hunter gave her a glare.

"I love it, okay?" Tiffany laughed, "I'll put it to great use."

She followed it up with a "Pillsberry Doughboy" poke in the stomach, to which Hunter responded by blowing raspberries.

As Hunter took Tiffany around Briarwood-Octavian High School, he pointed our areas to her that were on her map as well as areas that weren't.

"Now I know you're big on music and art, so I marked those on your map," he began. "The wing we're in right now is actually the art department. Your number one place at BOHS for painting, drawing, photography, and whatever else you can think of but I can't at the moment. Oh! Sculpting."

Hunter gave Tiffany a dorky grin, to which she replied with an eye roll and a smile. She bumped him with her shoulder as she took in and memorized the signs that labeled the different rooms.

"We're passing by the entire music department right now," he pointed at the walls and doors. "As you can see, there are practice rooms with three grand pianos in each one. The double doors are all classrooms and single doors are practice rooms."

He looked sheepish for a minute.

"In reality, I don't know much about the musical scene here," he admitted, "but I was sure to ask around so I would know what to say to you."

Tiffany looked shocked.

"But Hunter, when we lived in California together it was all I could do to pull you away from the guitar to help me practice by playing the piano accompanist for my flute. Afterwards, I'd have to drag you away from the piano because your mom said it was time for you to practice the guitar!" said she, astounded, as the pair kept walking.

He thought for a minute.

"I don't know," he sighed. "I met a bunch of guys when I first came here and they introduced me to competitive soccer and it just became my life. Over the years I began dropping music and…" he trailed off.

"You mean you dropped water polo too?" Tiffany looked bothered. "You mean to say you went through changes this drastic and you couldn't even tell me about it? Hunter! You owe me twelve years of memories because of this!"

She smacked him upside the back and he flinched slightly, looking regretful.

"Come on," he said after a moment. "Let me walk you to your first class."

The two walked, silently, out of the music wing and into the math department where Hunter led Tiffany to Room 109.

"Here you go!" he said cheerfully, trying to lighten the mood, "Calculus BC with Ms. Tran."

A loud clacking of heels sounded on the floors and a brunette of about 5'6, dressed like she had just came from a photo shoot, walked into the hallway. She stopped walking for a split second when she saw Hunter and Tiffany in the lonely hallway but then continued walking straight up to Hunter.

"Hunty, baby, you didn't wait for me outside like you usually do," she said in a pouty voice.

Her eyes fell on Tiffany.

"What is that?" she asked in a disgusted voice, giving Tiffany a once over.

"This is Tiffany Ming, she's a senior too. Tiffany's my childhood friend and she just moved to Westchester. I was showing her around before classes start. I didn't realize it was 8:50 already, or I would have been waiting outside for you, honey," said Hunter to the brunette, wrapping his arm protectively around her shoulder and holding her close.

"Fany, this is Massie Block," he explained to Tiffany, who had a very quizzical expression on her face. "She's my girlfriend."

Massie Block smirked at Tiffany before pulling Hunter's head down so that she could kiss him. The couple's lips met with open mouths and tongues.

She was clearly trying to send a message to Tiffany, who looked away awkwardly, as Massie and Hunter kissed with an almost vigorous and urgent passion. His hands ran up and down Massie's waist and her hands were tangled in Hunter's hair.

They went at this manner for several minutes while Tiffany could only look away because her class was a foot away from her. Moving towards it would change nothing in terms of what she was stuck watching, otherwise.

When the two finally broke apart, Tiffany found herself boiling with frustration and fury at this girl; this Massie Block.

"Come on Hunty, say goodbye to your friend," Massie said sweetly to Hunter. She turned to Tiffany, however, and sneered. "She looks old enough to take care of herself. Let's go to class,"

She turned and began walking towards what was, according to Hunter's map, the science department.

Tiffany watched Massie leave with ice in her eyes.

"Nice girlfriend, Hunty," she muttered. "I thought you hated that name."

"Look, Fany," said Hunter, clearly still thinking about his kiss. He shook his head and looked Tiffany in the eye. "Things are going to be different but I hope we can still be friends –"

She cut him off, tears welling up in her chocolate brown eyes.

"We'd better still be best friends, Hunter. If not you, who else do I have?"

"Hunter!" Massie snapped from down the hallway, "What's taking so long?"

"Look, I know you like to be alone or with just me during breaks and lunches," Hunter said to Tiffany in a rushed voice, "But come to the cafeteria during lunch. Table eighteen, it's marked and labeled on your map. I want you to meet some people. I won't be able to find you after first period to walk you to second, but have a nice class and a great day."

He turned and ran after Massie, catching her between his arms from behind. He bent his head down to kiss her neck.

Massie let out an amazingly loud giggle and turned her head around slightly to glare at Tiffany.

"Yeah…" Tiffany sighed. "I'm sure I'll have a great time," she whispered to herself, watching the only boy she ever looked twice at walk away with another girl.

"A perfectly spiffy time…" she thought to herself, before walking into her classroom and looking away.

* * *

_In reality, I only spent two days writing this chapter, but it came out better than I could have hoped for. Personally, I feel extremely confident about this chapter, but at the end of the day the overall success of a piece of literaturer is at the hands of the reader._

_Review, and review honestly. It pleases me to know what my writing has been read, and I'm usually overjoyed with someone cares enough to comment. Thanks for your time._

_~Amanda  
_


	3. Chapter 2: Appearances

**Chapter 2: Appearances  
**

Ms. Tran's period one Calculus BC class had about eleven students in it.

When Tiffany walked into the room, she was tempted to walk right back out. How could a math class be so empty? It wasn't an elective; math was a mandatory class and a senior needed at least two years of math before they could graduate. Tiffany knew that a large portion of students ended up taking math all four years to increase their number of available majors while applying for colleges.

Somewhat apprehensively, because teachers can be surprising, Tiffany introduced herself.

"Ms. Tran? My name is Tiffany Ming; I'm a new student," she offered her hand to shake with the teacher's.

"It's nice to meet you Tiffany, and welcome to Briarwood-Octavian High School. I've heard very promising things about you as a student; I hope you won't disappoint me. I'm Ms. Tran, your Calculus BC teacher for the rest of the year, assuming you don't drop the class."

At first glance, Ms. Tran appeared to be a sophisticated, young woman at about 5'7, and twenty-seven years of age. She had very intelligent brown eyes that sparkled. She reminded Tiffany of her oldest sister, Jessica. Both women radiated exorbitant brains and modest beauty.

Tiffany handed Ms. Tran one of the nine slips that the office had given her earlier in the morning. She had been specifically asked to give one to each of her teachers to sign and bring them all back to the office at the end of the day. They'd also given Tiffany extras in case she lost some.

Ms. Tran walked over to her desk and took a black pen from an organizer. The minute or so it took her to fill out the slip allowed Tiffany to sweep the room very quickly and analyze what she saw.

It must have been at least 8:05 A.M., yet the classroom was less than half full. Most of the students seemed fairly knowledgeable, but it bothered her that there weren't any Asians in her class. She'd known that BOHS student body was predominantly white, but this was ridiculous. The only other Asian in the class was the teacher.

"Ms. Tran?" Tiffany asked after Ms. Tran handed back Tiffany's slip. "If you don't mind answering, I was wondering why your class size is so small."

To Tiffany's surprise, Ms. Tran laughed to herself before answering her question.

"A good ninety-two percent of the student population at Briarwood-Octavian High School doesn't prefer to focus on their academics. They're more sports orientated –," she received a cheer for that, "– or plan on seeking careers in the popular media industry."

This stunned Tiffany, who was so accustomed to being in constant competition with her classmates back at Royal Academy. In reality, her biggest competitors had always been her best friends. Tiffany had made it her goal to come out on top academically because Stanford wasn't about to take more than three students from such a large but prestigious private school like Royal Academy. She already had twelve AP classes under her belt and she'd received 5's in all of them, making her a national AP scholar.

"Gosh, BOHS is nearly the polar opposite of my old school then. We paid good attention to extracurricular activities, but we worshiped academics above all." she murmured to Ms. Tran.

"I should probably let you get class started," Tiffany realized, laughing at herself. "Do you have arranged seating in your class?" she added, looking around at the many empty desks.

Ms. Tran shook her head as she handed Tiffany a copy of her syllabus.

"No, I don't, but if you don't mind I'd like for you to sit next to Kristen Gregory for the first week or so. She's my stud and she'll help you catch up on what you've missed."

Ms. Tran turned and picked up an EXPO marker and began writing on the board.

A pretty looking girl dirty-blonde hair smiled and patted the seat next to her. She had tanned skin and short, but toned legs that suggested she was a player of a running sport such as cross country or soccer.

"Hi, my name is Kristen Gregory. I'm a senior just like the rest of the students in this class. It's nice to meet you. We don't get new students, especially not in this class, so you must be really smart," she greeted Tiffany with a handshake.

Tiffany smiled in return.

"Thanks for the compliment; I like to think that I'm smart but for all I know, I could be universally inept. My name is Tiffany Ming; I'm a senior as well."

She pulled out her notebook and began copying down what Ms. Tran was writing on the board.

"Uhm," Kristen interrupted quietly, "We don't take early notes in Ms. Tran's class because she adds to the pre-notes as she goes along the lesson. This is just an overview."

Tiffany shrugged and continued writing.

"I prefer to take in everything at the start and then go along. I've already taken this class before outside of school, anyway. So, hopefully, I won't be missing anything," she replied in a whisper. "Thanks for the tip, though," Tiffany added, smiling kindly.

Kristen shrugged and nodded before focusing her attention on Ms. Tran.

As the class got right to work, Tiffany made sure to sit tall and work diligently. Ms. Tran finished her lecture exactly forty-five minutes before class ended, and gave her students the rest of class to work on the homework.

While the class focused on their assignment, Ms. Tran turned on her stereo to KOST 103.5 so that the class would be able to enjoy music, rather than dead silence as they worked, but still be able to maintain a very relaxed and focused classroom environment.

Tiffany got straight to work, eyes glued to her paper, and surprised herself by making excellent progress. She had finished three fourths of her assignment, after only twenty five minutes, when Kristen spoke to her again.

"So, Tiffany, where are you from?" she asked her.

The class took the opportunity to listen in as Kristen interviewed Tiffany.

Tiffany's hand never left her pencil, which never left a three-inch radius from the paper as she replied, "Southern California; but I was originally born in Taiwan before we moved to the States when I was sixteen. My dad's business moved us around a lot during the years in between."

A brown haired boy threw in, "If you've only lived in the States for a few years, how can you speak with an American accent?"

"I'm very good at mimicking different sounds and tones because Chinese is such a complex language in terms of pronunciation," said Tiffany, easily. "My parents also enrolled me in schools throughout my childhood that taught in English because they wanted me to attend college in the U.S. without any language barriers."

Kristen thought for a few minutes as she completed a question from the assignment.

"Do you play any sports or instruments?" she finally asked.

"I play several, actually. At Royal Academy, my school in California, I was on the swim, water polo, basketball, and volleyball teams," Tiffany replied, her tone of voice five times more perky. "Musically, I tried my hands in almost everything. Piano, guitar, pit instruments, and flute are my main focuses, however, and I'm also a singer-slash-songwriter. I try to be very involved, so that I'll always have something to fall back on."

A brunette girl asked curiously, "What are you planning on doing assuming you don't need to fall back on anything?"

"I want to be a doctor. Pharmacologist, pediatrician, gynecologist…it doesn't matter. I just know that I love science and biology as much as I love the arts. I also want to help people."

Tiffany said this to her homework, of which the last three questions she wanted to complete in the ten minutes left in class.

It became completely silent in the classroom. The only audible noises were the scratching pencils against paper and the soft hum of Sara Bareilles on the radio.

Finally, Tiffany put her pencil and eraser back into her pencil case and snapped her paper into her binder. She put everything back in her backpack and stretched.

"You're _done_?" exclaimed Kristen, glaring furiously at her paper. She had only completed a third of the assignment. The furrow between her eyebrows grew deeper and deeper and she wrote and erased over and over again.

Tiffany shrugged and said as the bell rang, "Math is kind of my forte."

She stood up and made her way out the door.

"It was nice meeting you Kristen," she said before leaving the room.

Tiffany sighed to herself as she made her way down the quickly crowding hallway. If that's what every class was going to be like on the first day, she wished she could just fast forward to next week. It certainly wasn't going to be easy to keep the same impression up all day. Sure, the students had been nice to her, friendly and helpful. However, Tiffany had hoped that she wouldn't have to say much so that she could analyze the other students and determine which of them she could get along with the best before opening up about herself. Unfortunately, what with the interviewing during math class, it was hard to do.

She pulled out her schedule and double checked her 2nd period, AP Government, before she took note of the day, Wednesday, and realized that it was an odd-day block schedule. Following this, she remembered that BOHS did not have all-days.

What had Hunter been thinking about when he said he couldn't walk her to 2nd period? Tiffany guessed it wasn't about classes.

Her eyes rolled down her schedule and landed on her 3rd period, Advanced Dance, and she breathed a sigh of relief. This was a class she'd mainly have to focus on her dance ability to make a good first impression; her behavior would come slightly after.

Tiffany wanted to take advantage of the ridiculously long thirty minute break between classes and explore the music department. Following the map that Hunter gave her, she made her way through the hallway and came to a stop in front of a single-door room; it was a practice room, according to Hunter.

Tiffany pulled open the door after peering in through the window to make sure it was empty. She stepped in and found herself standing in heaven. Hunter had not been kidding about the three grand pianos, but there was so much more.

A bookcase took the place of two entire walls. They were well-stocked with music ranging from Baroque to 21st Century contemporary, from Bach to Lady Gaga. There were entire shelves dedicated to movie scores, international music, Asian pop and much, much more.

"I think I'm in love," Tiffany whispered to herself and she shut the door behind her. The only shame ,the only shame that she immediately noticed, was that the practice room was not soundproof. This meant she could hear whatever was going on outside, and anyone could hear what was happening inside.

Tiffany's feet took her back to the Impressionistic Era, her hands led her eyes to Claude Debussy, and her fingers extracted an entire two-inch binder dedicated to Clair de Lune from its place on the shelf. She opened the binder and flipped through the different, page protected, transpositions, wishing so much that she had brought her flute with her. Tiffany closed the binder and returned it to the bookshelf, her eyes searching for Pachelbel at the same time.

After finding the correct binder, Tiffany walked over to one of the grand pianos while looking for the familiar transposition for the appropriate instrument. She set the binder on the piano's music rack and seated herself on the leather-topped bench.

During a silent count off in her head, Tiffany put her fingers to the black and white array of keys and her feet upon the pedals and began the melody.

Canon in D was one of her favorite songs to play on the piano. Tiffany loved to get a large group of her friends to come over, set up their keyboards, and play Canon, in canon, and increase the tempo until they reached _prestissimo _and, one by one, wait for someone would drop out until they crowned the last person play as the winner.

This time, however, Tiffany found herself playing solo at about _mid-moderato_; and it almost made her sad when she reached the song's most renowned section* and found that there were no angry outcries of an unfortunate friend who had already made an error while playing.

She shook her head. She should not, could not, and would not cry simply because she had moved across the country. None of her friends had died or been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Her family was well and _almost _everything in Tiffany's life was going as planned. She was alive, well, and thriving. There was no reason to feel upset, so Tiffany kept playing.

So engrossed in the song and in the music of the piano, Tiffany was startled when a foreign sound entered her ears. The clicking of a door opening – someone else was here. Her fingers, which had been dancing across the piano keys, immediately ceased movement and her hands fell into her lap. Her eyes locked onto the face of the person who had interrupted her song. Her eyes flickered briefly towards the clock behind the person's head and Tiffany sighed internally. Including the ten minute passing period, she still had fifteen minutes before she had to leave. So why was someone rudely barging in when it could be heard from outside that someone was in here?

"May I help you?" she asked the boy who came into the room.

* * *

_I know this chapter is about way too many months belated, but I hope you enjoy it none the less. Cumulatively, this took about a week and a half to write, but much too long to post. The past two or three days, I spent a much longer portion of time writing, reading, editing, and reviewing this chapter in hopes that I could make up for lost time. Perhaps in return, you, my readers, could review and comment honestly about this chapter. Tell me anything: how you liked it, what you liked, what you didn't like, how you felt about the characters and the way I portrayed them, and so on. Writers live for the reviews from the reader._

_Thanks so much to any subscribers of this story if you're still hanging in there and will to read _Dilemmas_. It means a lot to me._

_To any prospective and future readers, I hope you'll be able to put up with my inconsistent updates. I try._

_~ Amanda  
_

*** - The section of Canon in D that I am referring to contains the eighth note, then sixteenth notes, repeated, then followed by a sixteenth note run. It can be heard at 0:47 on the video located on my profile page.**


	4. Chapter 3: Fleeting

**Chapter 3: Fleeting**

"May I help you?" she asked the boy who came into the room.

Tiffany's first impression of him was that he was like every other boy she had seen at this school; just another Disney Channel Caucasian boy with good looks. However, he had one feature that stood out the most to Tiffany, and it was his hetero-chromatic eyes. One eye was blue and the other, green. This was exceptionally peculiar to Tiffany because the most intriguing eyes she had ever seen, prior to this moment, were her own. Her eyes were a chocolate brown with a slightly darker, but noticeable, star pattern on her right iris.

"No, I'm fine, thanks" he said.

Then he added bluntly, "You must be new."

Tiffany gave this comment a brief moment of consideration before replying, "What makes you say that?"

"These practice rooms are usually used as a "make-out-in-between-classes" hide-out room," he shrugged. "Besides, no one who goes to this school who is as good as you, and I doubt anyone is, would be willing to play if others can hear. The music department isn't as popular as many of the other departments in this place. Besides…I've never seen you before, and this is a small town."

Tiffany blinked several times, lips turning downwards until her facial expression became one of disgust. She then made a mental note to come in tomorrow with the whole line of Lysol® to clean and disinfect the practice rooms.

"Well now," she grimaced, "That was pleasant information I could have gone my whole life without knowing."

He responded with a chuckle.

She stood up, brushed her hands off on her skirt and offered it to the boy.

"My name is Tiffany Ming," she said, shaking his hand. "Yes, I'm new and I'm a senior."

He nodded for a few seconds, thought for another, and replied, "My name is Cam Fisher, I'm old and I'm also a senior."

Tiffany responded to this with a laugh. He reminded her of her brother, but she did not say this aloud. She wasn't sure if that would end up a good thing or a bad thing.

"You know," he began again, "I don't know a lot about playing music, but I am an expert on the art of listening to it, so I think it's safe to say that you play awesomely."

"…Uhm," Tiffany felt her face flush, "I don't think awesomely is actually a word…" she trailed off, not wanting to unintentionally push away her first ever friend at a brand new school with her Grammar Nazi habits.

She internally breathed a sigh of relief when Cam gave her an expression of _mock_-offense.

"Well excuse me, Mrs. Webster, for my retro use of vocabulary, but I believe "awesomely" is a grammatically _adverb_," he retorted, smugly.

"I'll believe it when I see it," she smiled, "but back to your initial statement: thank you. I…don't usually get compliments when I play. Only my family has really ever said anything…and of course the judges…but that's all."

"_What am I doing?" she asked herself, perplexed by her own boldness. "This is the last thing I tell people. Only Hunter knows about this. Stop, Tiffany. Stop talking about this. Talk about something else."_

"Can _you_ play anything?" she asked curiously.

Cam laughed at himself.

"I can play a few songs here and there on the guitar and I know most of the chords, but that's about all. I don't play well though, but at least the songs are recognizable."

The seven-minute bell rang as Tiffany laughed and said, "Just practice every day and you'll get better. I have to go, but I'll see you around Cam."

The two exited the room together and parted, walking in opposite directions as Cam yelled, "See ya!"

Tiffany felt a smile grow on her face as she flitted towards the performing arts department, her high-spirit refreshed due to her fleeting encounter with a new friend.

* * *

_While I was writing this chapter, I really wanted to take a reviewer's advice to make Tiffany seem more like she had a personality. I want readers to be able to relate, and, although this chapter is short, I feel like I brought out some of her more personal thoughts and feelings as a start. I hope this has made the story a bit more appealing and I will definitely try to lengthen up the next chapter, but you probably won't see an update until after next week. Thanks everyone!_


	5. Chapter 4: Fight-or-Flight

**Chapter 4: Flight-or-Fight**

Tiffany sighed upon entering the cafeteria Briarwood-Octavian High School.

Everything was just so...organic.

Tiffany loved to eat healthy. She really did. After everything she learned in her Biology classes over the years, she became hooked on putting clean, healthy ingredients into her body. There was nothing more gruesome than poisoning her body with chemicals that it didn't know how to metabolize. But that never stopped her from indulging every now and then. And right at that moment, Tiffany nothing more than to gorge herself on a massive, scrumptious burrito from Chipotle.

After the massive letdown on her first day at a new school, nothing sounded more tempting.

She looked around the cafeteria and saw sushi, tofu-substitutes for meat, zero calorie drinks, and nothing that whetted her appetite whatsoever.

So instead she went for the tofu dog on whole grain bread, making sure to grab lots of organic ketchup and organic relish packets from the condiments bar. Not that there was any other option.

Any other day, Tiffany would have been fine. Actually, she would have been thrilled because she loves tofu. Her mom cooks it a lot at home and the taste is sentimental to her. But today was not any other day.

Today, the teachers all loved Tiffany. She participated actively in class, laughed at a couple of their jokes, and successfully integrated herself into the semester, despite her initial fear of not being able to catch up. On the other hand, however, her classmates were not as kind.

They didn't show it, but she could feel the stares burning into her back. Each time she was able to answer a question in Mr. Budd's Economics class, a shiver ran down her spine as she heard whispers around her.

_"Why do I feel so insecure?" she thought, nervously. "Things like this shouldn't bother me - they never have before. At Royal Prep, everyone would have done the same as her. If the teacher asked a question, you answered it. Is that not okay here?"_

The only time she had felt at ease was in her calculus class. The people in that class were there because they wanted to be there. Whether or not they enjoyed mathematics, they opted to be in that class it benefitted them in some way. Ms Tran also made the class feel very comfortable and borderline-relaxing. It had been a great way to start the day, but a letdown since none of her other classes seemed to be able to compete.

"Tiffany!" she heard a girl call.

She turned her head toward the sound.

Kristen was waving her over from a large table comprised of several smaller tables pushed together. Around her sat nine or ten other people - Tiffany noticed that Cam was one of them - creating a cacophony of sound with their roars and laughter. Her eyes quickly fell on Hunter who lifted his hand and waved in greeting. But before she could wave back, Massie, sitting next to him, grabbed his arm and held his hand tightly between hers, giving him a peck on the cheek and a possessive smile.

Tiffany walked over to the table with her food and sat in the space Kristen made for her between herself and a red-headed girl.

"Tiff, is it okay if I call you that?" Kristen asked, to which Tiffany responded with a nod, "These are my friends. We're all seniors. Guys, this is Tiffany Ming. I met her in Calc - it's her first day."

"Dylan Marvil" said the red-head between a bite of turkey burger, beginning the introduction.

"Claire Lyons" smiled a blonde-girl. She seemed sweet and very girl-next-door-like.

Next up was a very beautiful Latina girl named Alicia Rivera.

Hunter's girlfriend promptly looked away at her nails when it was her turn, and he spoke for her instead.

"We know each other already," he said to the group. "We grew up together until I moved here. This is Massie Block, Fany. My girlfriend, as you might have guessed."

Cam took the liberty to say the same.

"I met her in the practice room. First person I've met in my entire high school career that actually used the practice room to practice," he joked.

The people that followed were:

Josh Hotz, an olive skinned, black haired boy who looked very much like Alicia. Sure enough, the two were a couple.

Chris Plovert, a brunette with a wide mouth much like Chord Overstreet. He introduced himself with a wave and a boyish smile that made Tiffany want to smile.

Derrick Harrington, Dylan's boyfriend, had shaggy blonde hair and brown eyes. Tiffany could tell he was a goofy one right away as he stood up gallantly and declared, "Yo soy Derrick Harrington!"

And finally, one Mr. Kemp Hurley. Tiffany could smell his pervertedness from a mile away. Complete with his "You've Got Male" shirt and cocky wink, he introduced himself as "Hurley. Kemp Hurley."

Tiffany plastered a smile across her face, hoping it seemed genuine. Save for Massie Block, the group seemed friendly, based on her first impression. But she could also tell that they had been friends for a long time, just as she and Hunter had been. This knowledge made her sad because that kind of bond, especially among so many people, is hard to permeate. She could never truly become part of a group who had already forged a strong friendship.

But she sat and ate and talked and laughed with her new acquaintances. She quickly found out that Cam and Claire were dating, that all of the guys played soccer, and that she had stumbled upon the popular kids of Briarwood-Octavian High School.

Tiffany never considered herself to be "popular". Yes, she was well-liked and had a lot of friends, but she was never nominated Prom Queen or Homecoming Princess. Her peers elected her for ASB Senior Class President because the position for Commissioner General was taken by someone who was actually popular. When she moved, her position was quickly given to the runner-up for Commissioner General as opposed to her more-qualified but less-popular friend who was runner-up for class president.

In short, Tiffany was not accustomed to the attention. Boys and girls sitting at different tables around hers would glance up and casting lingering looks upon them. Expressions varied. Some were awed, others jealous. Some disinterested, others intrigued. Tiffany felt naked in her seat because she felt people were especially looking at her.

_"What are they thinking?" she wondered. "They probably want to know who this dorky new-girl dressed in Forever21 is. Everyone else is wearing Ralph Lauren and BCBG. I probably stick out like a sore thumb. And after all of that staring in class..."_

Tiffany's toes curled in her shoes and her entire body stiffened. She felt a bead of sweat trail down her back, tickling its way down her spine. _Was she imagining that or was there actually moisture? Or maybe a bug was crawling down her back. _She felt her heart pounding against her chest, the sound echoing in her ears. Her respiratory rate quickened, quietly, as the adrenaline coursing through her veins sent her body into flight-or-fight mode. She cast her eyes downwards at her shoes and willed herself to take a breath.

_"Calm down, Fany" she said to herself. "There's no point freaking out over something stupid like this. After a couple of days, they'll get used to you and they won't even notice you. In a couple of months, you'll be off to college and it won't matter what they're thinking or saying about you. Right now, it's fight mode. Calm down. Relax."_

Her body relaxed and the moisture evaporated off of her skin. Her heartbeat slowed back to normal and she looked up to meet Hunter's knowing gaze. Tiffany shook her head and smiled. She was fine. Everything was fine. Well...almost everything.

Her eyes glanced at the clock. Two more hours of school and she could go home and relax. She could make it. Her last class was AP Biology, her favorite academic class. She would be fine...hopefully.

* * *

_Wow. This chapter has definitely been a long time coming. A little over two years, but it feels like longer. I wasn't planning on continuing with FanFiction, but a recent review inspired me to try writing again. Starting with this one, maybe I can get at least 2 of my 3 "ON HIATUS" (indefinite) stories up and running. _

_For those of you who had been following this story before it died out, I hope you like the update. For the new readers, please enjoy! :)_

_Reviews are always welcome - they're pretty much my motivation to keep writing. It's nice to know someone is reading your work._

_~Amanda_


	6. Chapter 5: Comfort

**Chapter 5: Comfort**

The bell rung at 2:00PM signaling the end of school and Tiffany slowly put away her Biology notes and panda pencil case away in her black Jansport backpack. It had been a long day and she was exhausted.

She trudged out of the classroom and almost turned around and went back in. After spending an hour and forty minutes in the dark taking notes on a PowerPoint, the sudden burst of light pierced through Tiffany's pupils. She squinted as she waited for her eyes to adjust and began walking towards the student parking lot.

All around, her fellow students excitedly made plans for the rest of the day. Shopping, meeting up for pizza, and hanging out at someone's house. Tiffany sighed. Her mother never gave her that much luxury on a school night, and it was only Monday! She envied these boys and girls who had the freedom to do anything they wanted to.

But Tiffany never felt that her parents were unreasonable. They let her out on weekends as long as long as she stayed on top of her school work. She was allowed to leave home whenever she needed to, as long as she let her parents know where she was going and when she would be back. They gave her money whenever she asked for it and trusted her to be careful. Weekdays had always been out of the question, and Tiffany had never tested it. She had never dared. She had never felt the need to. After all, her mom and dad were only looking out for her safety.

But today she felt lonely, desperate for the comfort of familiar faces and familiar culture. She intended to go home at Hangout with her friends from Royal Academy on Google+. But first she needed some time to collect herself and her own emotions - a little bit of comfort and self-pity.

So Tiffany got into the front seat of her car, put her backpack in the passenger seat, and let out a long sigh. Her first day was over. What a relief. Spending six hours trapped in that school made Tiffany want to puke. She couldn't take the introductions. The scrutinizing eyes. The judgmental sneers. She wanted nothing more than to blend into the background as if she weren't a new student in the middle of the year. As if she had been here the whole time, so no one should pay her any mind. The undesired attention made her squirm and she hated the uncomfortable feeling of eyes on her back.

Tiffany sat in the car a little while longer. She took a few deep breaths with her eyes closed. Then she put the key in the ignition, powered up the car, pulled out of the lot and drove towards the nearest Starbucks to pick up a venti white chocolate mocha frappuccino before heading home.

When Tiffany pulled into the driveway of her family's new estate, she was greeted by a barking German Shepherd, tearing down the porch to greet her. He jumped excitedly as she got out of the car and began licking her face once she did.

Tiffany laughed and dropped to her knees, putting her coffee on the floor.

"Sarge! What are you doing here?" she cried, wrapping her arms around the large dog. "You're not supposed to be here until next week with Kyle, Richard, and dad!"

"Surprise!"

Tiffany spun around to see her fraternal twin brothers rushing out to meet her.

Kyle and Richard Ming were both medium-built young men. They weren't so much macho-men like Chris Evans or Channing Tatum, but were more like a young Jude Law and Hayden Christensen. Kyle was a little more intimidating overall because his natural expression seemed so serious. His mouth naturally fell into a hard line but his eyes sparkled with this ethereal kindness. Richard's first impression was very light and open. His lips naturally curved into a smile and his eyes shone with the same happiness as Kyle's eyes. The two both wore denim jeans with button down shirts, sporting a ormally-cool look, appropriate for the soon-to-be Yale grads.

"Oh my gosh!" she screamed, running to envelope her older siblings in a hug. "You guys are supposed to be at Yale getting ready to graduate! What are you doing here so early?"

"Well we couldn't let your first day at a new school-" began Richard...

"-go uncelebrated. So we brought Sarge over to cheer you up," finished Kyle.

"Besides," Richard added. "he was going crazy back in LA with just dad to take care of him. So we stopped by there, picked him up, and brought him here."

Tiffany was baffled. _How do they always know when I need to be cheered up?_

"It's because we're psychic," said Kyle, with his mouth full of something.

_How did he know I was thinking that?! How does he always do that?!_

Then she noticed him drinking her comfort coffee.

"Hey!" she cried, trying to make a grab for it.

It was in vain, however. It always was. Kyle passed the large, plastic cup to Richard.

"White chocolate mocha..." Richard declared after sampling the drink for himself, "How could we not know that you've had a rough day? This is the tell-tale sign. We caught it right when you got out of the car."

"Now spill the beans," said Kyle, leading the trio into the large estate, "What happened today?"

Tiffany kicked off her shoes and socks before following her brothers into the living room. Kyle sat at the head of the couch, Richard at the foot, and Tiffany flopped down between them, head on Richard's lap and feet on Kyle's.

This had been their routine since Tiffany was in 3rd grade. She had needed someone to talk to about her first crush-gone-wrong but their mother had been working. With only five brothers to turn to for help, she ran to the twins in hopes that they would be able to give her some advice without teasing her. As it turned out, they had helped a great deal, despite the unrelenting teasing that ensued, and Tiffany didn't need to ask her other brothers for help.

"Well..." she began, "It's really stupid. My classes are great so far, the teachers are all nice but it's the students that I can't wrap my head around."

"Oh please, what about Hunter?" Richard asked, innocently.

Tiffany shot up from her seat, legs still propped on Kyle's lap.

"He's the one I can't understand the most!" she cried. "He doesn't care about school or music. He's obsessed with soccer and he's dating this **awful** girl Massie Block. She's like brunette Barbie with the attitude of Regina George before she got hit by a bus! That guy is not Hunter Chen, he's some Briarwood-Octavian-brain-washed person who looks like Hunter."

Tiffany stretched back onto the sofa and across her two brothers.

"And when he's trying to show me around the school, she shows up in her designer clothing and **makes out with him right in front of me!**" exclaimed Tiffany, who was now on a full-blown rant.** "**I mean, who does that? What kind of person with any dignity sucks face with someone right in front of a total stranger?"

Her face grew red and her heart began to race. Angry tears pooled in her eyes and she blinked rapidly to fight them back.

As the twins noticed Tiffany's breathing become labored they immediately reacted.

Richard smoothed the hair on her head, stroking it gently. Kyle began to rub her feet, pressing smooth circles into her soles and heel.

"Fany, good girl" they murmured to her in Chinese.

"You have to be reasonable, Fany," Kyle followed up in English. "It's been five years since you last went to school with him. Of course he's going to change."

"And you've changed too," Richard jumped in. "So you need to move on and let things happen naturally. As for this Massie girl, you need to stay away from her. Just don't get involved with her," he warned.

"But how?" Tiffany whined. "She's everywhere!"

"If you have to talk to her, talk to her. But you aren't obligated to go out of your way to be nice to her and hang out with her just because she's dating Hunter," offered Kyle.

"Now come on," said the two, pulling Tiffany up into a standing position. "We bought you boba and Taiwanese sausage with rice."

All tears forgotten, Tiffany squealed and excitedly grabbed both of her brothers' hands and led them into the kitchen to eat.

Maybe they were right. They way they said it, things didn't seem so bad after all.

* * *

_Hope you enjoyed this chapter. My main purpose here was to open up Tiffany's personality a little more. I know she seems like this unbelievable genius who is completely unrealistic, but, bit-by-bit, I plan on developing her character in a way that will prove her reality. When I created her, I never saw her as some ethereal goddess, but just as this over-achieving girl who pushes herself extremely hard._

_Also, this was not just 1,400 words of filler. By introducing Tiffany's family, the plot will start to unfold because they play a major role in the way Tiffany behaves, which you will soon see._

_Thanks!  
~Amanda_


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